Container support for gravestones



g- 1964 E. F. CLEMENT CONTAINER SUPPORT FOR GRAVESTONES Filed Feb. 21,1963 if z/ 2 I INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,145,847 CONTAINER SUPPGRT FDR GRAVESTONES ElmerF. Clement, RFD. 1, South Hampton, N.H. Filed Feb. 21, 1963, Ser. No.260,127 3 Claims. (Cl. 211-71) This invention relates to a device forsupporting containers for flowers, plants and the like on a gravestone,and has for its principal objects to provide a device which isadjustable in size so as to fit stones of different girth; to provide adevice which will hold the containers above the base of the stone andhence out of the way of mowing equipment and to enable trimming close tothe base of the stone without interference from the presence of suchcontainers; to provide a device which will support containers inlaterally spaced relation to the sides of the stone rearwardly of thefront face; and to provide a device which is ornamental when applied tothe stone, symmetrical in appearance, durable, easy to install andinexpensive to manufacture.

In accordance with the invention the device comprises a rigid straphaving members adapted to be adjustably secured to the four sides of thestone at a predetermined height above the base, arms extendinghorizontally outwardly from the sides, braces secured to the outerextremities of the arms inclined inwardly and downwardly and havingtheir inner ends in abutting engagement with the sides of the stoneabove the base, and means secured to the horizontally extending armsspaced from the sides of the stone and the outer extremities of the armsadapted to hold containers suitable for containing cut or growingflowers and/ or plants.

The strap is made up of members for engagement with the back and sidesat the rear corners, other members for engagement with the front andsides at the front corners, means adjustably connecting the rear membersfor adju'stment width wise of the stone, and means adjustably connectingthe front and rear members at the sides of the stone for adjustment fromfront-to-back. The arms are made of flat stock twisted intermediatetheir ends so as to have vertically disposed portions adjacent the sidesof the stone substantially in the plane of the front face and horizontalportions outwardly thereof, the outer extremities of which are curledupwardly and inwardly. The braces have flat portions engaged with theundersides of the horizontal portions of the arms, the extremities ofwhich are curled downwardly and inwardly and the inner ends of saidbrace portions are curled downwardly and outwardly so as to provide acylindrical bearing surface for engagement with the sides and base ofthe stone. The means for holding the containers comprise rings securedto the rear sides of the vertical portions of the arms in spacedrelation to the sides of the stone. The frontengaging portions of thefront members are abbreviated so as to have contact with the margins ofthe stone adjacent the corners.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference tothe accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a stone with the device attached thereto;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevation of the stone with the device attachedthereto;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the stone with the device attached thereto; and

FIG. 4 is an isometric exploded view of one-half of the device showingthe relation of the component parts to each other and to the stone, thelatter being shown in dot-and-dash lines.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a stone comprised of a headpanel and base 12 to which is secured the supporting device, which formsthe subject matter of this invention, for holding containers 14 inspaced relation to the sides of the stone and rearwardly of the frontface well above the base 12 and the ground level indicated by the line16.

The device is in the form of a multi-part strap 18 (FIG. 4), designed tobe applied to the back, sides and front faces of the stone for holdingan arm 20 extending horizontally from each side of the panel 10, to therear side of which is secured a container holder 22, herein shown in theform of a ring for receiving the lower part of a cylindrical containersuch as a flower pot. Obviously, the holder 22 may be of any desiredconfiguration, for example rectangular, to receive a container having arectangular cross-section or of polygonal cross-section so as to receivea container of cylindrical or multisided crosssection.

Referring particularly to FIG. 4, the device is made up of two rigidangle members 24 which have rightangularly disposed arms 26 and 28 forengagement with the back and sides of the panel 14 at the rear corners,and two rigid angle members 36 having right-angularly disposed arms 32and 34 for engagement with the sides and front at the front corners ofthe panel. The arms 26 of the rear members 24 are provided with one ormore threaded openings 36 by means of which these parts may beadjustably secured to a connecting member 38 containing slots 41 at itsopposite ends through which screw bolts 42 may be placed and screwedinto the threaded openings 36. The adjustment between the rear members24 provides for applying the device to stones of different width. Thearms 32 of the front members 30 are provided with a plurality ofthreaded openings 42 and the arms 28 of the rear member 24 are providedwith slots 44- for receiving screw bolts 46 by means of which the arms28 and 32 may be adjustably secured to each other in overlappingrelation. This adjustment provides for diflerence in thicknesses of thestone.

The arms 34 of'the front members 30 are of abbreviated length so thatthey have engagement with only a relatively narrow marginal portion ofthe front face of the stone and hence do not overlap or conceal any ofthe decorative facing applied to the front face.

Each of the arms Ztl is comprised of flat stock twisted intermediate itsends so that it has a flat, vertically disposed portion 48 adjacent theside of the stone and a horizontally disposed portion 5i) outwardlythereof. At the inner end of the vertically disposed portion 48 there isa rigid right-angularly disposed flange 52 containing openings 54 forreceiving screw bolts by means of which it is fastened to the arms 32 ofthe front member 39, so as to extend outwardly in a substantiallyhorizontal position. The outer extremity of the horizontal portion 50 iscurled upwardly and inwardly at 56. The holders 22 are secured to therear sides of the vertical portions 48 by means of screw bolts 58 or thelike, so that they are spaced from the sides of the stone and rearwardlyof the front face.

In order to reinforce and prevent sagging of the arms 20, either by theWeight of the containers or by some one leaning on the support, braces58 are secured to each arm. Each brace has a flat horizontal portion 60secured to the horizontal portion 50 of the arm by suitable bolts or thelike, the outer extremity of which is curled downwardly and inwardly at62 to provide, in combination with the curl 56 at the end of the arm, anornamental appearance. The portion of the brace inwardly of thehorizontal portion 60 inclines downwardly, inwardly and rearwardly sothat its lower end abuts the side of the panel adjacent the base 12.Preferably the lower end of the brace is curled downwardly, outwardlyand upwardly to provide a cylindrical bearing member 62 for engagementwith the or side of the stone adjacent the base and the upper surface ofthe base and also to impart an ornamental appearance thereto.

The device, as described above, is made of flat stock in such simpleshape as to be extremely easy to manufacture, to be installed on thestone and to be easily adapted to the girth of the stone and willprovide a durable, attractive adjunct whch will support flowers, plantsand the like in an attractive manner and so that they need not beremoved by attendants during the process of mowing and/ or trimming theground about the stone.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purposeof illustration only and that this invention includes all modificationsand equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A device for supporting containers on a gravestone above the base,comprising a rigid strap having members for engagement with the back,sides and marginal edge of the front leaving the major portion of thesurface area of the front unobstructed, means adjustably securing theparts together in frictional engagement with the stone to sustain thestrap at a predetermined heightwise position relative to the base, anarm secured to each of said members of the strap engaged with the sidesso as to extend laterally from the sides in a horizontal position, eacharm being comprised of flat stock twisted intermediate its ends so as tohave a vertically disposed portion adjacent the side of the stonesituated substantially in the plane of the front face and a horizontallydisposed portion outwardly thereof, the outer extremities of which arecurled upwardly and inwardly, a brace comprised of flat stock having aflat part disposed against the underside of the outer por tion of thearm and secured thereto, said portion having a downwardly and inwardlycurled extremity and a part extending downwardly and inwardly from thearm into engagement with the side of the stone above the base, theextremity of which is curled downwardly and outwardly relative to theside of the stone so as to provide a cylindrical bearing surface forengagement with the stone, and a rigid ring secured to the rear side ofthe vertical portion of each arm in a horizontal position for holding acontainer spaced from and adjacent the side of the stone rearwardly ofthe front face.

2. A device for supporting containers on a gravestone above the base,comprising a first pair of rigid members having right-singularlydisposed arms for engagement with the back and sides at the rearcorners, a connector part adjustably secured to the arms havingengagement with the back, a second pair of rigid members havingrightangularly disposed arms for engagement with the sides and frontsolely at the front corners leaving the major portion of the surfacearea of the front unobstruced, the arms of the first pair of membersbeing engaged with the back side, means adjustably connecting the armsof the first and second pairs of members having engagement with thesides of the stone to each other, said components permitting adjustmentof the parts for application to stones of different girth, and said armsof the second pair of members having engagement with the front sidebeing abbreviated so as to lap over only the marginal edges of the frontside, arms secured to said second pair of members so as to extendhorizontally outwardly from the sides substantially in the plane of thefront side of the stone, braces secured to the extremities of the armsextending downwardly and inwardly therefrom into engagement with theside of the stone above the base, and rigid holders secured to the rearsides of the arms for holding containers in spaced relation to the sidesand rearwardly of the front face.

3. A device for supporting a receptacle at each side of the uprightportion of a gravestone above the base, comprising a band extendingcircumferentially of the back and sides, said band having endsterminating at the front side close to the margin, leaving the majorportion of the surface area of the front side unobstructed, said bandincluding back and side components adapted to be shortened with respectto the back and sides and securing means for fixing said components toclamp the band to the upright portion of the stone, an arm secured tothe band at each of the sides so as to extend horizontally outwardtherefrom above the base, a brace supporting each arm, said brace beingsecured at one end to the outer end of the arm and having a bearing atits other end in the angle between the intersecting surfaces of the baseand side of the upright portion, and a receptablesupporting membersecured to the rear side of each arm in spaced relation to the side.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS752,996 Nissenson Feb. 23, 1904 913,772 Rosenfeld Mar. 2, 1909 2,103,127Van Enkevoort Dec. 21, 1937

1. A DEVICE FOR SUPPORTING CONTAINERS ON A GRAVESTONE ABOVE THE BASE, COMPRISING A RIGID STRAP HAVING MEMBERS FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE BACK, SIDES AND MARGINAL EDGE OF THE FRONT LEAVING THE MAJOR PORTION OF THE SURFACE AREA OF THE FRONT UNOBSTRUCTED, MEANS ADJUSTABLY SECURING THE PARTS TOGETHER IN FRICTIONAL ENGAGEMENT WITH THE STONE TO SUSTAIN THE STRAP AT A PREDETERMINED HEIGHTWISE POSITION RELATIVE TO THE BASE, AN ARM SECURED TO EACH OF SAID MEMBERS OF THE STRAP ENGAGED WITH THE SIDES SO AS TO EXTEND LATERALLY FROM THE SIDES IN A HORIZONTAL POSITION, EACH ARM BEING COMPRISED OF FLAT STOCK TWISTED INTERMEDIATE ITS ENDS SO AS TO HAVE A VERTICALLY DISPOSED PORTION ADJACENT THE SIDE OF THE STONE SITUATED SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE PLANE OF THE FRONT FACE AND A HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED PORTION OUTWARDLY THEREOF, THE OUTER EXTREMITIES OF WHICH ARE CURLED UPWARDLY AND INWARDLY, A BRACE COMPRISED OF FLAT STOCK HAVING A FLAT PART DISPOSED AGAINST THE UNDERSIDE OF THE OUTER PORTION OF THE ARM AND SECURED THERETO, SAID PORTION HAVING A DOWNWARDLY AND INWARDLY CURLED EXTREMITY AND A PART EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY AND INWARDLY FROM THE ARM INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH THE SIDE OF THE STONE ABOVE THE BASE, THE EXTREMITY OF WHICH IS CURLED DOWNWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY RELATIVE TO THE SIDE OF THE STONE SO AS TO PROVIDE A CYLINDRICAL BEARING SURFACE FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE STONE, AND A RIGID RING SECURED TO THE REAR SIDE OF THE VERTICAL PORTION OF EACH ARM IN A HORIZONTAL POSITION FOR HOLDING A CONTAINER SPACED FROM AND ADJACENT THE SIDE OF THE STONE REARWARDLY OF THE FRONT FACE. 